Trump's import tariffs may have been welcomed by US manufacturing sectors for being supportive of domestic production, but the sanctions on Russia and Rusal-made aluminium could have far greater repercussions, Lord Copper muses.
You don't have to be an admirer of President Trump to admit that one thing he does seem to be well tuned in to is the hopes and fears of the people who gave him his victory. They were not the internationalist, well-heeled of New York and its environs, or the laid-back denizens of the West Coast; they were those who felt marginalized and neglected in the run-down industrial bits. We shouldn't carry this too far - the United States is hugely innovative and has a massive, hugely important manufacturing sector. But, it has changed over the years, and some former powerhouses have lost their sheen. So while we may look with stunned amazement at the erection of tariff barriers against some imports, if we were part of the...